Sun, Fun, and no writing

You'll have to forgive me, but over the holiday weekend I decided accepting invitations to camps* was more appealing than staying in town where there is Internet access. I spent three glorious days sunning myself, swimming, and eating grilled food. Pretty awesome. Before heading out of town I took stock of what remained to be eaten from last week's CSA (a head of red leaf lettuce) and then went to pick up that week's share. I now have gallon size Ziploc bags, so I can give you a more accurate account of what I picked up:

1 gallon baby lettuce mix
1/2 gallon mixed salad greens (including spinach, radicchio, and tatsoi)
1 1/2 gallons mixed braising greens (including kale, baby bok choy, and chard)
1 small head each of cabbage and napa cabbage (they are a little bigger than a softball)
1 quart of pea pods (This time I picked more snow peas than snap peas.)
2 zucchini
1 large napa cabbage
2 heads broccoli

And given my being out of town over the weekend and then being sick at the beginning of the week, I still have quite a bit left (1/2 the baby lettuce, all of the salad greens, the bok choy, 1 small head of cabbage, 2 zucchini, most of the large napa cabbage, and the broccoli). I'm thinking I'm going to try finding a recipe for kimchi. The broccoli I'm going to try freezing. The zucchini might be made into bread that will be brought to work (or frozen).

I used up the chard, kale, and small head of napa cabbage last night (which turned into today's lunch, or maybe afternoon snack). Wanting to change up my stir fried greens, I decided to add some Moghul Masala to it. What is Moghul Masala? It's an Indian spice mixture I found in one of my cookbooks (The Book of Curries & Indian Foods). It's a mixture of cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and nutmeg, so it adds a warm flavor to foods. After adding that, I felt that the dish needed a little sweetness, so I threw in a good handful of raisins during the last few minutes of cooking. I was really pleased with the results. While it's not a combination many people would think of, it's a balanced combinations that completely changes the flavor of typical stir fried vegetables.

Spiced Greens with Raisins

1 tbsp oil
1/3 c chopped red onion
1 tsp Moghul Masala
6 cups mixed greens (such as chard, cabbage, kale), rinsed and dried
1/4 c raisins
cooked rice

Put a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add oil.
When oil is shimmering, add onion and masala, and cook while stirring.
When onion is translucent and spices fragrant, add greens. Use tongs to turn the greens and mix with the onion and masala. Cook, turning frequently until mostly wilted.
Add raisins and continue cooking until greens are cooked to your liking. (I found that the chard and kale cooked quickly, while the cabbage was still not quite done. In this case, I kept cooking until the cabbage was tender and the other greens were very soft).
Remove from heat and serve with rice.

* Camp: the Maine term for a small cabin on a lake or ocean.